ORGANIZED CRIME IN SERBIA
VESNA NIKOLI]-RISTANOVI]
The main aim of the paper is to analyse how organised crime is represented in
Serbian (printed) media during the year 2003 and how this representation is
connected to broader social and political processes. The paper is based on the analyses of papers published in daily newspapers, Blic and Politika, and in the magazine Vreme, in the period between January, 1 and September, 30 2003, as well as the selected articles published in some other daily and weekly newspapers and magazines throughout 2003. Qualitative (content) method is used as main one, while quantitative method is used as supplementary one. The analysis deals with two main themes: crime inventory and (media and control) reaction. The paper suggests that Serbian media’s image of organized crime is predominantly consisted from murders, at first place those with political background, illegal drug trade and kidnappings of, predominantly, businessmen and criminals. In the conclusion, the author argues that it is impossible to understand organized crime in Serbia without being aware of it as an integral part of economical and political structures of Serbian state created during 1990s. Moreover, the author argues that the proper reaction to organized crime needs to be based on the explanation of structural causes which led to its creation and clear and decisive concept of transitional justice, including both transformation of institutions and development of rule of law.

INTRODUCTION
The paper is based on content analyses of articles on organized crime published in printed media in Serbia during 2003, i.e. during the year for which, when crime is concerned, main features were the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and "war against organized crime", as immediate state reaction to it. The main aim of this paper is to show how organized crime is represented in Serbian (printed) media and how this representation is connected to broader social and political processes. Articles about organized crime (291) published in daily newspapers, Blic and Politika, and in the magazine Vreme, in the period between January, 1 and
September, 30 2003, 1 as well as the selected articles published in some other daily and weekly newspapers and magazines throughout 2003, are analysed. Articles published until September 30, 2003, are used for the analyses of all topics covered in this paper, while articles published after that date 30 are mostly used for getting, as complete as possible, the picture of media and state control reactions to organized crime. For the analyses of media representation of organized crime in Serbia qualitative (content)
method is used as main one. However, quantitative method is used as supplementary one as well.

CRIME INVENTORY: IMAGES AND RELATIONSHIPS

Inventory of organized crime in Serbia, as represented in Serbian media, includes various crimes, such as murders, documents and money forgery, racketeering, corruption, kidnapping, illegal possession of weapons, car theft, burglary, robbery as well as muggling and illegal trade in different goods. Also, relatively big part of articles (17,9%) deals with organized crime in more general way, not specifying crimes. Most of the articles report about murders (141 or 48,4%). A bit more than a half of all reports about murders (55,3%) deal with political murders, including elements of terrorism and state terrorism, while a bit less than a half mostly include killings in criminal groups’ clashes. Politically motivated murders are mostly presented as professional murders (liquidations), ordered by political actors. Most of politically motivated murders dealt by media during 2003 are committed in the period 1999 – 2003.
The similar frequency of media’s dealing with political murders and those which
resulted from criminal groups clashes contributed to the creation of two parallel and competing images of organized crime victims: politicians and political opponents, on one side, and criminals, on the other. This is, as we will show later, largely misused for political struggles in Serbia during 2003.
Different forms of smuggling and illegal trade are on the second place in the frequency of their appearance in media (57 or 19,6%), while kidnapping (23 or 7,9%) is on the third place. Among articles dealing with smuggling and illegal trade, the most numerous are those which deal with drug trade - 56,2%, while those about other forms, such as smuggling of cigarettes and fuel, and trade in people, stolen cars and weapons, are much less present in printed media coverage. It is, however, worth mentioning that, although articles about trafficking in people have being quite often present in Serbian media in the period under examination, they are only sporadically addressed as a form of organized crime and, consequently, are mostly excluded from the media’s image about organized crime. Thus, the above mentioned participation of articles about this crime in Serbian media relate only to those articles which treated trafficking in people as a form of organized crime and in
connection to the activities of criminal groups which were the target of the police action "Sablja". 3 It is obvious that the Serbian media’s image of organized crime is predominantly consisted from murders, at first place those with political background, illegal drug trade and kidnappings of, predominantly, businessmen and criminals. As a consequence, media’s images suggest that organized crime in Serbia has both economic and political aims. Moreover, information about organized crime provided by media suggest that perpetrators of organized crime and those who were aiding and abating
them are largely members of special police units and intelligence services, as well as criminals working for the police (so called para police). On the other side, apart from criminal groups members, victims of murders and kidnappings are predominantly high rank officials or financial supporters of political parties, MP-s, businessmen, journalists or owners of opposition newspapers during Milo{evic, politicians, but also police men and high rank officials of police and intelligence service, who were involved in clearing up of murders committed during 1990.s. Those who were suspected for aiding criminals in different ways are also corrupted prosecutors and judges, military personnel, as well as defence lawyers suspect that they were members of the same criminal groups as their clients. Among those accused for inciting for the cruelest political murders are former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and high rank intelligence officers who were on duty during Milosevic’s regime. Many of police and intelligence service members as well as many of criminals
working for the police during Milosevic’s rule also have long criminal history and were participating in the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Many of them are notorious

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Jesus beat the devil with two sticks. Colossian 2:13,15

Proud American!

Communism/Socialism is similar to legalizing burglary and murder!

Organised crime in Serbia was crushed after Djindjic's assassination in 2003, during the famous Sablja (Saber) operation. This is old news and it's totally irrelevant.

However, apart from police and intelligence service members from that time, many of those accused for organized crime in general, and for political murders in particular, were active members, and sometime on
high positions in police and intelligence service in Djindji}’s Government as well. Having all that in mind, media’s image of organized crime in Serbia clearly suggests continuity between war crimes and state terrorism of Milosevic’s regime, on one side, and present day organized crime, on the other side. Moreover, it also suggests close links between organized crime and political opponents of the new regime, and, as a consequence, its increasing activities toward destabilization of country and return of old political elite.

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Jesus beat the devil with two sticks. Colossian 2:13,15

Proud American!

Communism/Socialism is similar to legalizing burglary and murder!

All Serbs are criminals.

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Russian Imperialism is a greater danger to the World today than AlQueda terrorism

Another profound conclusion by the fabulous political analyst and philosopher! Bravo!

Lunecat, would you send me your autograph via internet? I want to print it and keep it on my desk

...and Serbs point the finger on others, when their own rubbish on the backyard is tenfold. Ncuk

That's true!

I've heard that some of them rat on people with the intention of getting them banned!


I can imagine it now :

Serb : "It's not fair - everyone is against me, just because I'm serb"
Mod : "Oh, really - you are banned"

... some time later, after ban elapses ....

Serb : "Look here! these links to some posts from other people, It's not fair! - why don't you ban them too? - Its not fair ....."
Mod : "Oh, OK I will ban them, by the way you are banned too"



Serbs rat on other posters to moderators - fact!


They make me sick to my stomach

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Russian Imperialism is a greater danger to the World today than AlQueda terrorism

I've heard some Scotsmen like the taste of US and English butt leftovers very much.

Do you happen to know these Scots?

Well, what can one expect...after all the world revolves around Serbia and its people. Oui Eh

You said that, not me.